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SEO Trends For 2017

The world of SEO is one that moves at breakneck speed, and it can be difficult to keep up if you’re running your own SEO. Just one Google update could send your traffic figures plummeting. The good news is that here at GLC Digital Marketing, we keep our finger on the pulse of the latest trends, updates and tips so that we can deliver the best service and ensure that you receive consistent and targeted traffic direct to your website. Here are some of our predictions for the rest of 2017.

User Intent Optimisation

Keywords are just as important as ever when it comes to SEO, but search engines are becoming more and more intuitive when it comes to user intent – that is, knowing what users are looking for and why they need that information. Instead of single or a few keywords, users are entering entire search phrases to find what they need. This means that brands will need to focus more on optimising digital content based on user intent rather than just a few keywords.

Rich Answers And Snippets

Everybody turns to Google when they need answers. “Google it” is part of our vocabulary today. Have you noticed that Google will often display the exact answer to your question at the top of the search results? These are called rich answers and snippets. This is all down to structured data markup, a tactic that can help website owners to achieve enhanced listings that not only assist a user with their question, but which encourage them to look further on their website.

More Cross Channel Marketing

If you are using a number of channels to market your brand, cross channel marketing could help you to do more business online and expose your brand to a wider audience. For example, if your audience browses your products using their mobile, you can hit them with ads that appear in their social media and browsers. This is especially helpful for targeting those who have viewed your products but chose not to buy at the time. Don’t let them get away. Use cross channel marketing to persuade them to make a purchase.

These are just some of the great things we’re going to be seeing more of in 2017. Get ahead of your competitors by jumping on some of these innovative and proven digital marketing techniques. We’d be delighted to help!

When it comes to creating a good user experience on your website, security is one of the most important considerations. Whether your users are paying for goods, or simply reading the information on your website, they need to be certain the time spent with you will be safe.

Security is also a top concern for Google, which is why they started their “HTTPS Everywhere” initiative back in June 2014. They recommend that every website Google connects users to should be as secure as possible, and that every business owner and webmaster should consider switching from HTTP to HTTPS. So, what does that mean, and is it a worthwhile consideration for your business?

HTTP vs HTTPS – What is the difference?

In a nutshell, HTTPS is the secure version of HTTP. This is the protocol that is used to send data between your internet browser and the website you are connecting to. The “S” in HTTPS stands for “secure”, and it means that every single piece of data that goes back and forth between the website and browser is encrypted.

For your customers this means that their connection is secure and their data is safe, whether they are carrying out a financial transaction, or uploading or downloading documents containing personal data. You probably use HTTPS sites without realising. If you login to online banking, for example, you will see HTTPS in your address bar, ensuring you that all actions you carry out are over a secure connection.

What Does HTTPS Do For SEO?

As we’ve already discussed, HTTPS offers big security and encryption benefits, but what can it do for your search engine rankings? You’d think that Google would give some rewards back to those taking up its recommendation to switch to HTTPS, and you’d be right to think that. Here are some of the SEO benefits of switching to HTTPS:

Increased rankings – You won’t see a huge boost, but a boost is a boost, and when combined with other SEO strategies, switching to HTTPS can do great things for your traffic. By obeying Google’s recommendations, you should reap more benefits as time goes on and they add more features to their search algorithm.

Improvements to referral data – If you have been using Google Analytics to monitor your data for your HTTP site, referral traffic may appear as if it is direct traffic. HTTPS does away with this problem by ensuring the security of the referring site is preserved making for much more accurate metrics.

Improve Your Customer And SEO Experience Today

There are many reasons why you should be making the switch to HTTPS, and it’s actually easier than you might think. We would be delighted to help you and your visitors to experience the many benefits of using an HTTPS website. Speak to us today to get started.

Imagine you posted a photo of one of your products on your website. Let’s say you sell kitchen goods and post a photo of a toaster. A human would be able to describe it easily as “a silver toaster with four slots and crumb tray”. A search engine, on the other hand, wouldn’t have any way to identify the image or use it to bring customers to your website as it doesn’t recognise images on their own. And it’s the same with any part of your website – if a search engine doesn’t know about the page, or how to return it to its users then it won’t be sending anybody to your website.

This is where search engine optimisation (SEO) comes in, and it’s one of the most important considerations for your online business. SEO helps search engines to understand your content, whether it is in image or text format, so that it can use this data to deliver search results to its users. Whether you are selling products or services, without good SEO, nobody will ever know you exist.

Making Sure Your Content Gets Seen

You could have the most engaging and attractive website ever, and yet the design alone will not bring you visitors. Every single page needs to be optimised using SEO. This could be with a product description alongside photos of your products, or it could be an optimised landing page using keywords that search engines will use when users search for the products you are selling.

There are many forms of SEO that you can take advantage of. At GLC Digital Marketing, we offer a holistic approach to SEO, using onsite and offsite SEO strategies that will raise your exposure, attract visitors and which work hand in hand with the latest search engine technology. SEO is constantly evolving, and so we take care to ensure we use effective and compliant techniques that will bring you the best return on your investment.

The Results You Can Expect

Once your website has been fully optimised, you will start to experience tangible results in the form of more exposure, more visits and ultimately more enquiries and sales. Working closely with you, we will learn your business goals and identify relevant industry keywords and other SEO elements that are going to drive more traffic to your website, and get you ahead of your competitors.

Speak to us today to find out more about how critical SEO is for your online business. Quite simply, you cannot do without it.

Most of us fall into one of two categories with regards to our website. We either rely on our website for a large percentage of our business, or we would like more business through our website to add to what we get from other marketing channels. Either way, there are some very important things to consider to give your website a better presence online and help it convert better once visitors arrive on your site.

Keyword Analysis

We hear regularly from clients that they are not getting the business they would like from their website but when they type their popular search terms into Google, hey presto, they are there at the top of the page! Now there are a few things here that matter…, number 1, if you are checking your rankings manually in Google, your search results can be skewed by Google showing you the most recent websites you have visited, i.e., often yours as you click on it to ensure it is showing ok. Number two, the search phrases that you think are the most popular are often not showing any search volume when we run them through the Google AdWords’ planner tool. What we recommend, is to open an incognito browser in Google when you are checking your websites’ performance in the search results. Also, run your search terms through Google’s AdWords’ planner tool to ensure they show good monthly search volume. This way, you have a better idea of how your website is really performing. If you need help with this or automating the monitoring of your Google rankings, get in touch with our friendly SEO team.

On Page Optimisation

It is important that you optimise you’re on page SEO for your targeted keywords. Your page titles, H1,H2,H3,etc., should contain your targeted keywords and then your Meta Title and Description should be optimised, with click through from the search results in mind. Another tip is to add all the image alt tags to your images, use some keywords here where relevant but don’t go too far as it needs to be natural and relate to the pages of your website. The content of your web pages should also reflect your keywords although ensure that you do not ‘keyword stuff’ and that your copy is well written with the reader in mind.

Off Page Optimisation

The next thing you are looking to do is to increase your website’s presence and authority. Get some really good citations from local and national directories and ensure that your details are consistent throughout, Name, Address and Phone Number being the most important. If they allow, add some unique content to any keyword or description sections and add photos, your business logo, website address and other items, if prompted. Now, you will want to look at some relevant news or information websites in your industry and look to gain some exposure or guest blogs on their website, with a link or two back to your website. This needs to be done gradually and it is important to ensure the websites that you get links from will add value to your backlink profile. There are tools such as the SEO toolbar from Moz that allows you to analyse the domain metrics of websites to ensure your SEO will derive benefit.

Mobile Optimisation

One of the most important factors for website conversions is mobile optimisation. With more than 50% of searches in Google now being performed on a mobile device, it is crucial that your website is built to be user friendly across all devices, including mobile. One of the best ways to do this is to build a Responsive Website that essentially folds down to provide the best version of the website for that device. The easier it is for users to find the information they are looking for and to make an enquiry, the better your conversion rate will be.

WordPress now powers 25% of the web recent figures have shown which illustrates the popularity of this open-source content management system. This is a huge milestone and we are not surprised as it has many benefits over other CMS platforms in the marketplace. If you are looking for a Responsive Website Design (RWD) for your business, then we would recommend considering WordPress as your solution.

We have expert Website Designers in Glasgow that specialise in WordPress Design and Development and our clients are consistently delighted with the end result of their website design. We also offer up to 1-hour Free Training as part of our website design process to allow clients the option to access the content management system and carry out their own updates. This can help keep ongoing costs down and we are always on hand to help if you get stuck!

The user experience with the Responsive WP design is excellent across all devices which is really important with more than half of Google searches being performed using a mobile phone. How does your website perform on a mobile phone?

If you have any queries or would like some advice call our Glasgow Web Design team on 0141 278 6162.

According to a recent study by Google, 4 in 5 of us use search engines to find local information. How is your presence on Google for the areas that you cover? Are you Page 1 for the most popular searches? How much new traffic are you getting every month from your search engine marketing to your website? We specialise in local SEO and giving your website a better presence on Google to drive more traffic and ultimately phone calls and enquiries.

Do you have a Google My Business page set-up?

Have you set-up multi-locations if relevant to your business? Are your Citations up-to-date with consistent NAP (Name, Address and Phone Number)? Does your website load fast? Is it mobile-friendly? Is it optimised for converting visitors into enquiries or sales?

In a recent study carried out by Bright Local, they found that Organic and Local searches deliver the highest quality leads and better ROI than other marketing channels. With organic and local search, you have ‘high intent’ consumers who are looking for a specific product or service in their local area, so conversions are higher than most other online marketing channels. Take for example a search for “plumbers in glasgow”, the consumer is very specific here and there is a very good chance that they are at the buying stage and need a plumbing business to service this need. Now there are on average 260 searches per month in Google for this specific keyword so you can see the value in getting your website found for this term. If you think local SEO can work for your business get in touch today…

We would be delighted to discuss your business objectives with you and see how we can help you increase your online presence.